“Former Seattle star (Mid-Major All-American) Charles Garcia will play in the NBA Summer League with @thenyknicks”

Draft Express on Garcia:

“After causing quite a bit of buzz with his play during the first few weeks of the season, Charles Garcia tossed his name into the NBA draft earlier this week despite struggling to match his hot start down the stretch. Raising questions about both his play on the court and intangibles off it, Garcia has seen his stock decline considerably in recent months, but remains a highly intriguing talent that is worth keeping an eye on during draft season.

Last time we checked in Garcia, he was fresh off a three game stretch during which he averaged a double-double and a shade under 30 points. Standing 6-10 with a great frame, good length, impressive mobility, and solid explosiveness, Garcia’s versatility quickly placed him amongst the nation’s fastest rising prospects. His athletic tools are certainly intriguing from an NBA perspective, but his season has taken downward spiral since our last report.

Much of Garcia’s recent struggles, at least statistically can be attributed to two specific factors: his lack of playing time, his inability to adjust to the additional attention he’s received from opposing defenses. Garcia averaged 31.3 minutes through the first nine games of the season, but only 23.8 during Seattle’s last 22 games. After being relegated to the bench by Head Coach Cameron Dollar for a supposed lack of effort, Garcia’s teammates seemed to play better –the RedHawks went 5-1 in games when he played less than 22 minutes.

Seattle’s success with Garcia playing a smaller role seems indicative of the type of player he’s been all season. Extremely aggressive and never shy about pulling the ball out of the offense and looking for his own shot, Garcia’s weak supporting cast has allowed defenses to key in on the 21-year old forward and exploit his often overly assertive shot selection”